The Equity Center implements college-wide initiatives, engaging with the campus community, to become a national leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA).
Mission
The Equity Center's Mission is to increase diversity, promote equity, and foster inclusion within the LCC community.
Lansing Community College Land Acknowledgement
Lansing Community College occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishnaabeg - Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. In particular, the City of Lansing and LCC reside on land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
What is Equity
The ongoing practice of recognizing and eliminating barriers and bias within procedures, processes, and distribution of resources in a structure or system. Specifically, equity is actively working to ensure full participation across cultural and circumstance differences by redressing the exclusion of historically underrepresented groups in the dominant society.
Equity is critical in achieving parity in the educational outcomes of our students, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability status. Beyond issues of access, outcomes of students, faculty, and staff from marginalized statuses are positioned at the forefront of the Equity Center's focus.
Equality vs Equity
Equality refers to giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients. Equality is also defined as treating everyone the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. While equality has become tantamount with "leveling the playing field," equity should be understood as providing resources and access for "those who need it."
Initiatives
Supports maximizing the potential of students and employees talents by fostering an
organization culture of inclusion and belonging in which people can thrive. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Human Resources invites faculty and staff
to participate in the inaugural stay interview process. As a valued member of the
Lansing Community College community, we ask faculty & staff to share your voices and
perspectives with us regarding why you continue to choose LCC each day. The "We're better than THAT" campaign will educate LCC law enforcement professionals, students, faculty and staff
on ways to approach difficult conversations on divisive topics and to stop hate speech
and racism in our community. Racism and hate speech have no place at the Lansing Community
College. We aspire to be a community whose members are equally valued and respected. Sign the Pledge! Never remain silent when observing racist behavior in the LCC community. Workshop Series: Becoming Antiracist. Engage with peers and learn best practices about
how to address prejudice that may be within our own communities. (ELI) are employees who serve as the point of contact for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
efforts within every LCC unit or department. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion
will ensure ELIs receive appropriate training to serve in this capacity. Engaging
activities for ELIs include: The DEI Dashboard was designed to enable and advise college leaders on where to make
investments in talent in an effort to create a more inclusive workforce at LCC. The
dashboard allows a breakdown of the workforces by division, department/unit and job
level and answers questions like: "Which areas of the college are not diverse?" or
"How diverse is my leadership distribution?"
Let's Get Working
Stay Interviews
In an effort to determine what makes LCC an attractive place to work and identify
areas where we can grow, we are asking faculty & staff to share their opinions for
this initiative.
Anonymous surveys will be sent to all employees in early January 2022. Please watch
your email for information and updates. We are holding four listening sessions that
will be offered both virtually and in person. The sessions will be facilitated by
the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Human Resources, as well as our consultant,
Global Alliance Solutions. The sessions will take place on Downtown and West Campus.
The findings of the surveys and focus groups will be shared publicly with the LCC
community; however, responses will not include information that can identify individuals.Facilitated by Office of Diversity & Inclusion Leadership and Human Resources
Facilitated by Global Alliance Solutions (Note: No LCC administrators will be involved
in facilitating these sessions)
We're Better Than That:
Phase 1:
Phase 2:
Fall 2022 LaunchEquity Leaders for Inclusion (ELI)
Important ELI Resources
DEI Dashboard:
About Us
Lansing Community College’s Equity Center advances organizational, institutional, and systemic equity within the LCC community through shaping College policies and public engagement. Driven by the Equity Action Plan, the work of the Equity Center is focused squarely on addressing racial injustice collegewide. Our policy work shapes the curriculum and program designs to measurably improve the outcomes of our students, particularly BIPOC and/or from other marginalized populations. By providing effective training, the Equity Center fosters inclusivity and equity by creating guided expectations around student and employee orientations in DEI. The Equity Center’s intra-departmental collaborations address structural inequities by establishing changes in the hiring and recruitment processes, especially for faculty. In partnership with the Public Safety Division, the Equity Center ensures fairness in law enforcement procedures, policies, and behaviors.
Contact Us
Equity Center
Arts & Sciences Building, Suite 1318
Rachel Yamakura
Equity & Inclusion Director
Arts & Sciences Building, Suite 1317
517-483-1173
yamakurr@lcc.edu